Former Marlin and Miami Beach resident Mike Piazza was on hand Sunday with Team Italy, which played a ‘B’ game against the Marlins on the backfield. Piazza played for Italy’s World Baseball Classic Team in 2006 and has since helped out with some hitting instruction. Piazza, a former Boynton Beach resident who moved south in 2001, discussed various subjects with reporters before the game. Here’s what he had to say:

On the Marlins’ new ballpark: “I’m really excited being a Miamian. It’s going to be great for the city and the fans obviously. A couple of cynical people have asked me, ‘Do you think it’s going to get more fans?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ When you know you’re going to be driving an hour, someone from north Broward, you know there’s going to be a game that night and you know it’s going to be comfortable. I think you’re going to get a lot more business people coming to the game from work. You’re not going to have to sit out in the heat and humidity and possible rain. It’s going to be better for the players. You know you’re going to hit on the field. I like that it’s not too big.”

On visit Miami as a player: “I hated it. I loved Miami, but I really hated playing there because of the stadium. I’m sure you’d get a lot of players that feel the same way. The surface of the field was nice. The stadium, and they tried to do some things with it, the wall in left field. I enjoyed the games there. The teams were always competitive, but to make a baseball only stadium can do nothing but improve the morale of the team, the players, and then you identify. It’s your home. When I played in New York, as much as Shea was antiquated and not to the standards of the newer stadiums, it was still our home and we identified with the place. In the successful years we had there we knew teams did not want to come in and play there when we were playing well.”

On whether he follows the Marlins, for whom he suited up briefly in 1998 between his tenures with the Dodgers and Mets: “They’re one of the true good examples of how to put a real competitive team on the field without the resources of a large market like New York, L.A. and Chicago. They know how to scout. They know how to draft. They know how to develop players. They know how to trade, and I think they work within their means. They’re not going to have the payroll of the Yankees or some of the larger teams. That’s what’s always impressed me about the team. You know you’re going to get a quality product out there. You’re going to get players that are well constructed, that are talented, young for the most part because they’re not in that realm of bringing in big, big free agents. Not yet, I’m sure the stadium, the revenues will be able to help them in that regard. I’ve always had a lot of respect for the organization.”

On his brief stint in a Marlins uniform: “The short time there, I’ve said many times playing for Jim Leyland was something for me. And that was at a time in my career too that was traumatic. Here I was traded from an organization that I was born in and Jim Leyland really picked me up. He said, ‘Look, you’re going to be OK. You’re going to get your contract and you’re going to be fine.’ Sometimes in life it’s not always easy. You have to go through changes. The Dodger organziation at the time was definitely changing. It was just sold and they didn’t know what direction they were going to go in. We didn’t have the most amicable negotiations, but it brought me to New York eventually and I had an amazing career there. Memories and people, and we went through 9-11. My career has been an amazing journey.”

On his involvement with Team Italy: “They love baseball. They’re passionate about it, and I wanted to continue to help them and bring more awareness that baseball is viable in Europe and push Major League Baseball to continue the investment over there.”

On whether he would coach in the majors: “To be honest with you, it’s just too much work right now to do that. To really coach, between spring training, the big league season, the travel, the extra work you have to put in behind the scenes…I did it for 20 years. I really enjoy being home with my kids. The schedule [with Team Italy] is flexible. It gives me an opportunity to get out of the house and keep my foot in the game a little bit.”

On his interest broadcasting: “I did that a little bit. I just don’t have the passion for it right now. I wanted to really disconnect from the game for a few years and refocus and find myself a little bit, and realize that baseball was what I did, it wasn’t who I was. I feel like I can contribute to the game in some way, but it really has to be a timing thing.”

On his interest acquiring an ownership stake in the Mets: “Hey, if the right opportunity is in the future I’ll definitely consider it. I have a good relationship with them. It’s a timing thing.”